This Blog is dedicated to generational marketing and communications and hosted by GenerationXpert Suzanne Kart. Suzanne, who is a Gen Xer, has more than 10 years experience writing, speaking, and studying generational communications and has spoken on the local, state, national, and international level. She can be reached at generationXpert@gmail.com

Monday, March 21, 2011

I've been meaning to post something about this year's Oscars being symbolic in two ways regarding Generation X.

The first is what I see as a parallel between The King's Speech winning best picture over The Social Network and Driving Miss Daisy winning the Oscar over Do The Right Thing in 1990. Both winners were about the past. Both losers were about significant events happening in the present. And I believe both are symbolic of the changing of the guard.

More significant to me was the casting of hosts James Franco and Anne Hathaway. It's not that they are not talented or smart. It's that the Oscar gig takes more experience than they have. I don't have to write about how it didn't work - that's been done. It's that it's really hard to replace a seasoned Boomer with a green Millennial. Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin had that gig last year. They are Boomer Kings. Think about all the Gen Xers who could have done that gig this year, still pulled a younger demographic, and not bombed.

I'm voting for Xers Drew Barrymore (born 1975) and Robert Downey Jr. (born 1965) - or maybe Matt Damon (born 1970) and Sarah Silverman (born 1970). Who would you pick?

"I don't know where I'm goin - but I sure know where I've been"

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Suzanne Kart

About Suzanne

Suzanne Kart is a writer, presenter and practitioner on marketing and eMarketing. Currently Director of Marketing for the Learning Resources Network (LERN), she is one of the nation’s leading experts on Twitter, social networks and generational communication for lifelong learning. She has more than 16 years experience in the marketing and communications fields. She does workshops across North America on marketing, eMarketing and generational communication.